Saturday, January 12, 2008

My first year at Uni, my first engagement, my first paisley shirt,stovepipe pants and winkle pecker boots….. one of those records that can change a life. Many of my friends were into Alice Cooper, Boston, The Eagles…. how they hated this record….. this album has so many memories for me.

From the early 1970s, Steve Kilbey and Peter Koppes had played in several glam rock bands in Canberra, Australia. In April 1980 they formed a three-piece with Nick Ward on drums and began performing. After Marty Willson-Piper (hailing from Liverpool) joined them, they took the name 'The Church'. Allegedly, the name was chosen largely because it was unclaimed, but later allusions to the band's spiritual interests by Kilbey hint that it was less coincidental. At the time, only Koppes was a fully-proficient musician. Kilbey was an erratic bass player and Willson-Piper was still searching for his style on guitar.

A four-song demo was soon recorded. Thanks to contacts from Kilbey's former band Baby Grande, they were able to send the tape to Australian record label, ATV Northern. The song "Chrome Injury" particularly attracted the attention of publisher Chris Gilbey (who heard a song being played in the next room to Don Bruner, his Professional Manager). Chris had recently formed a record production company in association with EMI Records in Australia and had resurrected the Parlophone label as his label. Chris went to a rehearsal of the band and subsequently helped shape the band's sound by buying Marty Willson-Piper a 12 string Rickenbacker guitar, and by equipping Peter Koppes with an Echolette tape delay. These helped bring out the musical direction of the two guitarists in the band complementing the vocal and bass style of Steve Kilbey. The band's first record contract quickly followed, but, of the four songs on the original demo, only "Chrome Injury" was later included on an official release.

Their debut album, Of Skins and Heart, was recorded late in 1980, produced by Chris Gilbey and mixed by Bob Clearmountain. Almost all tracks were written by Steve Kilbey. The first single (and studio debut for the band) was "She Never Said," which was released in Australia in November 1980. It went largely unnoticed, however, due to its release during the Christmas season. A second single, "The Unguarded Moment," was released alongside the album in March 1981, but initially only in Australia. This single garnered greater success, appearing on the charts, where it reached number 22. Thanks to this publicity, the band went on their first national tour.

By the time of the album's release, drummer Nick Ward had already been replaced by Adelaide native Richard Ploog. The arrangement was made by the band's manager, after hearing of Ploog's reputation in his local music scene. Ploog's arrival established the Church's first stable lineup.

The success of "Of Skins and Heart" enabled Chris Gilbey to present the band to Freddie Cannon, the Managing Director of (Carrere) and Rupert Perry, the Head of A&R for United States label (Capitol), which both went on to release it. In both regions, the album was renamed and repackaged with slightly altered track listings. Symptomatically, Richard Ploog was credited as the sole drummer on the U.S. release, despite playing on only one song. Capitol also released an edited version of "The Unguarded Moment" which was a minute shorter than the original - a decision that didn't much please the band.

Starfish (1988) recording sessions found the band in the thoroughly new surroundings of Los Angeles. Paired up with producers Waddy Wachtel and Greg Ladanyi, the environment was somewhat of a new challenge for the band. Used to following a more relaxed routine in the studio, the Church suddenly found themselves having to adjust to a thoroughly different approach. Kilbey: "It was Australian hippies versus West Coast guys who know the way they like to do things. We were a bit more undisciplined than they would have liked." Personality clashes became inevitable as the two sides bickered over guitar sounds, song structures and work ethic alike. Despite these conflicts, the results seemed promising. Under pressure from the producers, Kilbey began to take vocal lessons, an experience that he came to regard as valuable in hindsight. Wachtel and Ladanyi found promise in the songs, particularly "Under the Milky Way," which they focused on as a potential single from early on.

Life in Los Angeles came as a shock as well, and its influence filtered into the session. With the band feeling out of place, the stresses of a major American city energized the songs. Kilbey: "The Church came to L.A. and really reacted against the place because none of us liked it. I hated where I was living. I hated driving this horrible little red car around on the wrong side of the road. I hate that there's no one walking on the streets and I missed my home. All the billboards, conversations I'd overhear, TV shows, everything that was happening to us was going into the music." "North, South, East and West," "Lost," "Reptile" and "Destination" all bore the imprint of the faces, scenery and daily life of the group's new, temporary home.

Largely recorded live after four weeks of grueling rehearsal, Starfish focused on capturing the band's core sound. Bright, spacious and uncluttered, the recording was a great departure from the layered orchestrations of Heyday. The intention was to make it as "live" and dynamic an album as possible, which was achieved to a measured extent (Willson-Piper later went on to say that trying to record a live atmosphere lacked a real gig's sense of "being there"). Although the band found the results bare and simplistic, the reception they would come to receive would be unlike any they'd had before.

Released in February of 1988, Starfish soon found its way into the mainstream, propelled by the single "Under the Milky Way." Although never perceived as an intentional "hit" by Kilbey (who wrote it with then girlfriend Karin Jansson), it "just seemed to be the right song at the right time" as he would later claim. The warmth of the melancholic melody shone through on the 12-string-based progression, accented by light keyboards and minimalistic electric guitar. Kilbey's baritone vocal line "Wish I knew what you were looking for, might have known what you would find" made up the distinctive chorus, providing an abstract, but striking emotional centerpiece. A near-five minute music video received respectable airtime on major music video television channels, which in turn made available to a wider audience The Church's unique - as far as the mainstream was concerned - style. In line with the song, "Under the Milky Way's" video mixed mysterious, if not somewhat abstract, storylines with ethereal production filming techniques.

Whatever the formula for success, it worked, and the Church suddenly found themselves thrust into the spotlight as the single climbed the charts. As their name began to appear across the music industry, the band embarked on a nine-month world tour. The effects (and stresses) of their newfound success would not be solely positive, as time would later show.

3 IN THE MORNING (1994)

Something from cob, I had never heard this until today…. excellent album. I try to clear steer of comparisons in music…. but maybe a cross between The Triffids, The Go-Betweens and The Church, very spacious in texture and melodic….VERY AUSTRALIAN. Guests include Marty Willson-Piper from The Church and Amanda Brown from The Go-Betweens.

All tracks produced, engineered and mixed by Daniel Denholm, except for: tracks 4, 5, and 10 which were produced by Raoul Graf, engineered by Michelle Barry, and mixed by Daniel Denholm; and track 8 which was produced by Raoul Graf and Ben Moore, engineered by Ben Moore, and mixed by Ben Moore.

Nearly 40 years down the track and The Velvet Underground remain as fresh and relevant as the day it was recorded. For a band that only released 4 albums( 2 with John Cale and 2 as virtual Lou Reed albums) they have remained an important influence and yard stick to

You Am I recorded their 'difficult' second album, Hi Fi Way, at Greene Street Studios, New York from September 15-22, 1994 - straight after their much publicised support slot on Soundgarden's national tour of America. They teamed up again with Lee Ranaldo to produce Hi Fi Way. Ranaldo shared the mixing duties with Jon Auer, (The Posies) who also played some Hammond organ on the album.

You Am I went into the studio unsure what musical direction to take Tim's songs in, many of which were still without lyrics. They were also completely worn out after the Soundgarden tour and working to a tight recording schedule. Tim eventually overcome a bout of writers block and found inspiration in his childhood. "Suddenly all these things started to come," he says. "I had perspective on those events. I could admit things. It was really fun."

"Most of the tunes had their own central idea, but our usually rushed time frame and a complete inability to edit left some ideas more enunciated than others, for example Jewels & Bullets was written in 10 minutes just before recording it at 4am on the last night of recording."

"Applecross Wing Commander is about being 9 and pretending you're an airplane (specifically the corsairs in Baa-ba Black Sheep with Robert Conrad...) at lunchtime. The Wing Commander's sister's name was Jane methinks... Once again there's fiction with the non. She Digs Her, Minor Byrd and Punkarella are about folks, but exacerbated versions of 'em; whenever the truth got in the way of Rusty's fills... the lyric would be forever changed! I mean, do you sleep on your dick? No, well don't step on the drummer!"

After rushing through recording the album, Tim was unsure about what the band had done. "When we finished making this album in seven days - it was pretty hazy at the end and totally amphetamine logic 'cause we had no time - I was freaking out, being a total arsehole," recalls Tim. "I went back to this loft we were staying at in New York, at six in the morning, and I was just crying all day. I couldn't believe it. I thought, 'I've totally fucked up this record, this is shit.' I spent the next three days at a bar called Boo Radley's on a bender."

Released in February 1995, Hi Fi Way was greeted with five-star reviews throughout the local music press and scored the band its second consecutive ARIA award for 'Best Alternative Album'. It is regarded as one of the greatest Australian albums of the '90s and a benchmark in Australian music.

You Am I returned to the rock for their fourth album, aptly titled You Am I's #4 Record. The album was recorded during July 1997, again in America at Hollywood's Sunset Studios, where the Rolling Stones' Exile on Main Street was mixed with sloppy perfection ("that's why we chose it" - Tim) in 1972. The band also brought in big-name producer George Drakoulias (Black Crowes, Primal Scream) who worked with the band previously on Trike and Opportunities for the international release of Hourly, Daily.

"We've never had anyone crack the whip before and we've so little patience for really nutting things through," says Tim, about working with Drakoulias. "Fifteen times through we go, 'yeah, let's record this' but the way they do things for that production quality, they wanted this clarity... really dissected arrangements. "When bands say, 'we're not going to be fucked around (by a producer)', I can appreciate that if they really know what they want. But I don't think we know what we want, we're not afraid to listen to someone else... and then slag them off in interviews for years."

The band were also afforded the luxury of recording with the Memphis Horns (who appeared on tracks such as Junk and Come Home Wit' Me) and members of US punk outfit The Muffs who belted out the chant "R.A.D.I.O." on Rumble.

The return to rock wasn't intentional, but more of a reaction to the bands life on the road during a gruelling year of festivals, ordinary support slots and desperate headlining affairs across Europe and the US.

"We finished Hourly, Daily so long ago and since played all these shows so we really felt like digging in and doing more rockin' material," Rogers explains, "That's what we're good at, doing entertaining shows rather than the sensitive singer-songwriter bit, which is more my thing. When the three of us get together it's like, let's make a racket. It's very special and very exciting. Gut level stuff."

"I honestly wanted to make an album that was just about real things," Rogers said "It's not vignettes to suburban heroes any more. It's about love and hate and spite and the whole gamut of emotions in between."

You Am I took it's place in the annals of Australian music history when #4 Record debuted at No. 1 on the national ARIA charts - their third consecutive album to do so.

The mandolin ballad "Westfall" details the true story of two grotesque murders in Austin, Texas by college students. The song was written around the lines "They're looking for evil / Thinking they can trace it / But evil don't look like anything."

"Dead Dog Song" is an biographical account of the death and burial of lead singer Sheff's 14-year-old dog.

The lead track "Red" is about a female dancer who longs for her separated daughter.

This one for tricky, probably better than 'Watchful Eye' check out their cover of 'Solitary Man' one of my all time favourites

Also added the single ’Forming Colours’ …. Played support act to these guys more times than I can remember, great songs, great band, pity about the personalities and egos.

The band issued it's debut single Living Inside My Head on the Basketcase label in December 1984. Ups and Downs then issued a second single called Perfect Crime on Basketcase before venturing down to Sydney. The Waterfront label re-issued Perfect Crime in September 1985, by which time Ups and Downs had built-up a strong cult following on the Sydney inner-city music scene.

The bands second single on Waterfront, In The Shadows in April 1986, was a gorgeous slice of harmony-drenched guitar pop and one of the best independent singles for the year.

Ups and Downs signed a new deal with the True Tone label (through PolyGram) which resulted in the release of the mini-album SleeplessThe Living Kind. To coincide with the singles release, Ups and Downs supported US visitors The Flamin' Groovies on their Australian tour. in August 1986 and the single

I admit it……. I like Hole, had a thing for Courtney….back when I was young and stupid, always liked bad girls…. the story of my life. This has an great version of ‘Doll Parts’ enjoy

Hole: Courtney Love (vocals, guitar); Eric Erlandson (guitar); Jill Emery (bass); Caroline Rue (drums). Principally recorded live at the Whiskey, Hollywood, California and for BBC Radio between November 1991 and March 1992.

With ASK FOR IT, Hole widens the gap between the dirge-like tangle of self-indulgence so evident on PRETTY ON THE INSIDE and the slicker, more confident band that churned out LIVE THROUGH THIS. The EP captures Hole with its initial rhythm section, drummer Carolyn Rue and bassist Jill Emery, and shows the enormous growth even that incarnation of the group had undergone.

More than either of the full-length albums, ASK FOR IT gives insight into Courtney Love's musical and geological past. Calling the Velvet Underground's "Pale Blue Eyes" the "original new waver" and putting enough force into The Wipers' "Over The Edge" to levitate a tank, the 1992-era Hole are brutal, sloppy and deadly. Their rendition of Beat Happening's "Hot Chocolate Boy" brings out Love's sarcasm to the forefront. On ASK FOR IT, her take on Olympia, Washington's punk scene and the yo-yo throwing innocence of Beat Happening is respectful--unlike the scathing "Olympia" which closes LIVE THROUGH THIS. And in the comparatively innocent demo versions of "Doll Parts" and "Violet" we see not only the strength of Hole Mach II, but a raw glimpse into Love's grim self-image--the uncensored cover art shows healing slit wrists, a Love design.

ASK FOR IT is an unflinching portrait of Courtney Love emerging as the Diva of Destruction; more importantly, it shows how Hole is a band. Not yet the drawn fist of LIVE THROUGH THIS, ASK FOR IT is a necessary snapshot of a band about to explode.

finitely the best existing Pixies boot!31 tracks, all studio versions, among which:- 5 only can be found on officially released CDs (one very rare)

- 9 only can more or less easily be found on other boots, but usually with a worse sounding quality!- 17 are exclusive to this CD!Certainly all BBC sessions are there (the first 20 tracks!).The overall sound quality is excellent, and many of the alternate versions are quite exceptional, e.g. Into The White, a version of Wave Of Mutilation between the original and the UK Surf ones, two early versions of Down To The Well, a crazy version of There Goes My Gun, a rough version of Is She Weird?, and many others.RD is also the only record to feature a Pixies version of Hang On To Your Ego.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

What we have here are some very early cassette releases with David McComb singing. Good quality sound and great songs. Sorry no art work..... if you know where I can retrieve please let me know.... iTunes has a blank space.

The original line-up consisted of David McComb on vocals and guitar, Alsy MacDonald on drums (both of whom had been members of The Triffids), Phil Kakulas on bass guitar (an ex-member of Martha's Vineyard), Rob Snarski (ex-Chad's Tree) on vocals and guitar, and Ross Bolleter on organ and accordion.

They played eight gigs and recorded four songs before their 'day jobs' forced them to put the project on hold. The songs became their first EP, Some Births are Worse than Murders, released in 1990 on Waterfront Records. The record spent several weeks at number one on the independent charts in Australia.

By the time the EP was released the band had already undergone several incarnations. Not everyone took their holidays at the same time, so a floating lineup became an integral part of the band's character and appeal. Phil Kakulas left for Sydney with Martha's Vineyard . He was replaced by Martyn Casey (The Triffids). Ross Bolleter went to work in Japan, making his fortune playing piano in cocktail bars and restaurants. He was replaced by Adrian Wood. David McComb was present in the second lineup in 1989 before departing for England. He was replaced by Kim Salmon (The Scientists, Beasts of Bourbon, Kim Salmon and the Surrealists) on guitar and vocals in the summer of 1990. Martyn Casey departed shortly after to join Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.

"On the night of November 27, 1976, a tape was made by Alsy MacDonald, playing a single toy drum, and Dave McComb playing acoustic guitar. The multimedia group 'Dalsy' had come into being. Dalsy went on to make several remarkable tapes (mainly of original material): The Loft Tapes, Rock 'n' Roll Accountancy, Live at Ding Dongs, Bored Kids, Domestic Cosmos, People Are Strange Dalsy Are Stranger, Steve's and the seminal punk work, Pale Horse Have a Fit.… Dalsy did paintings, sculptures and poetry, and wrote a book named "Lunch". They were tinny and quirky, obsessive and manic, versatile and productive. They were also immensely unpopular.... The members of Dalsy grew to hate their audience. They still do, and this hate is an integral part of their music. Dalsy split up towards the end of 1977…. They launched into 1978 as Blok Musik, with their famous Blok Musik tape.… In April they played at the Leederville Town Hall Punk Fest, alongside Perth's punk rock contingent but, as usual, no one danced. After that they went home and metamorphosised into Logic. Within a day they changed their minds, and metamorphosised into the Triffids."

Their debut album Treeless Plain was released in November, 1983, an album completely out of tune with everything else going on in the Australian alternative music scene at the time. All of the songs for Treeless Plain were recorded over twelve midnight-to-dawn sessions at Emerald City Studios, Sydney in August and September 1983.

Their next single, "Beautiful Waste" / "Property is Condemned" and the Raining Pleasure 12” EP were released in 1984. By this time the Triffids had spent so much time traveling the 3000 miles between the west and east coasts of Australia (David McComb estimated that they made this trip between 12 and 16 times) that they decided to travel that little bit further and headed to Europe.

In late August, 1984 the band flew to London with a small amount of savings and five return plane tickets scheduled to expire by Christmas. They gave themselves three months to make inroads in the UK. Appearing as a support act at their London debut at the LSE, they blew headliners The Monochrome Set off the stage. They succeeded to the point where they graced the first cover of 1985 of the influential UK magazine NME, which it predicted would be 'The Year Of the Triffids'.

In The Pines was recorded in April 1986 not long after Born Sandy Devotional was finally released in Australia. They went to a shearing shed in WA and spent five days recording on an 8 track machine. They stayed in the shearers' quarters, consumed shearers' rations of beer and sheep and made an album that surprised us all by becoming a favourite of many fans. While it represents Their equivalent of Dylan and The Band's Basement Tapes, it also served as a sketch book for their first major label release, Calenture.

Recorded at Jacobs Studios Ltd., Surrey, England between August and October 1989.

New Zealand release. 1990

On SUBMARINE BELLS, Martin Phillipps and a yet another retooled Chills lineup make a bid for commercial acceptance. Gary Smith's detailed, atmospheric production is far more radio-friendly than that of previous records, and the gorgeous, appropriately titled lead track, "Heavenly Pop Hit," seems to indicate a desire for airplay. But when the chorus rolls around, and Phillipps sings "it's a heavenly pop hit/if anyone wants it," it is clear that he is wary about mainstream appeal. An uncompromising songwriter, Phillipps writes with honesty and vulnerability, hardly the formula for mass adulation.Phillipps is nothing if not ambitious-lyrically, compositionally, and thematically. A water leitmotif defines the record, culminating in the tragic title track, a poetic declaration of love from a drowning man, that closes the record. But this is a record of many moods, from the dark melancholy of "Don't Be Memory" and the revved-up fury of "Familiarity Breeds Contempt" to the lapidary beauty of "I Soar" and the exquisite "Effloresce And Deliquesce."

Love of Will is the debut solo album by David McComb, released in March, 1994. The album was recorded and mixed between June and August, 1993, at Platnium Studios with additional mixing at Metropolis and Sing Sing Studios. McComb selected 13 songs out of a pile of 35 and recorded them at Platinum Studios, Melbourne with producer Nick Mainsbridge, together with freelance musical directors Graham Lee and David McComb, and assistant engineers Kalju Tonuma and Phil Jones.

The Hitmen were an Australian indie rock band. The group went through a large number of lineup changes in its short late 1970s and early 1980s run, then regrouped under a new name, The Hitmen DTK, between 1989 and 1992. 'It Is What It Is' is a 1982 studio recording.

He co-founded the seminal punk band The Saints, the experimental post-punk group The Laughing Clowns and later the grunge-like The Aints. He has also recorded over a dozen albums in his own name with a variety of backing bands, notably Ed Kuepper and the Yard Goes On Forever, Ed Kuepper and his Oxley Creek Playboys, Ed Kuepper and The Institute Of Nude Wrestling, The Exploding Universe of Ed Kuepper, Ed Kuepper and the New Imperialists and presently Ed Kuepper and the Kowalski Collective.

Prefab Sprout were an Englishpopband from Witton Gilbert, County Durham, who rose to moderate fame during the 1980s. Critically acclaimed and considered by many to have released some of the best pop albums of the decade, the band never became part of the mainstream, but saw moderate commercial success.

Swoon is the first album by English pop band Prefab Sprout, released in March 1984. It has a markedly different, and less accessible, musical feel than their later works, featuring intricate guitar-based compositions that drew comparisons with Steely Dan and Aztec Camera.

Protest Songs is the fourth album by English pop band Prefab Sprout (though the third recorded). It was recorded in 1985, but was not released until 1989. Its delayed release was due to the surprise success of the song "The King of Rock 'n' Roll", prompting the band's record label to release From Langley Park to Memphis first to avoid confusing the public. The back cover of Protest Songs emphasizes the fact that the album is a stage in their musical evolution, offering a middle ground between the sound of 1985's Steve McQueen and that of From Langley Park to Memphis.

Jordan: The Comeback is the fifth album by English pop band Prefab Sprout, released in August 1990. Jordan: The Comeback showed Prefab Sprout continuing their musical evolution from the prickly jangle guitars of Swoon, their debut. The use of synths is more prominent, lending the album a poppier feel, and Paddy McAloon explores other genres on some songs, from samba to doo wop. The album was critically acclaimed: it was nominated for Best Album at the Brit Awards, and reached #7 on the charts in the UK. It was--by Prefab Sprout's admittedly modest standards--a commercial success.

McComb suffered from back pain which worsened over the years. He also struggled with alcoholism, and amphetamine and heroin abuse, which greatly affected his health. He developed cardiomyopathy, a heart condition that, when found in young men, is most commonly induced by alcoholism. In 1996, he underwent a successful heart transplant, but continued his drinking and drug use. In January 1999 he was driving a car which was involved in a collision. He was hospitalized overnight and released with bruising. A few days later he died at home, on February 2, 1999 just before his 37th birthday. In February 2000, after the State Coroner of Victoria finally published his findings, The West Australian newspaper wrote: "Mr Johnstone [the Coroner] said McComb's mental and physical condition had deteriorated after his accident but his death was due to heroin toxicity and mild acute rejection of his 1996 heart transplant."

Love of Will is the debut solo album by David McComb, released in March, 1994. The album was recorded and mixed between June and August, 1993, at Platnium Studios with additional mixing at Metropolis and Sing Sing Studios. McComb selected 13 songs out of a pile of 35 and recorded them at Platinum Studios, Melbourne with producer Nick Mainsbridge, together with freelance musical directors Graham Lee and David McComb, and assistant engineers Kalju Tonuma and Phil Jones.

Here we have the single ‘Setting You Free’, with four non-album B-sides. "I've heard things turn out this way" also appears on the The Message CD single.Tracks are :1. Setting you free2. Home for fallen angels3. You've got a funny way of showing you love me4. My friend sleep5. I've heard things turn out this way

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b

Maddies Crew - Those whose time & effort make this blog function

with gratitude from bruce

trickyhankcobmaileekenbottlelowbobbieoverheremelpaolospike-x

please leave a thank you, they give their time and music for you to enjoy

peace & love

bruce

TROLLS IN THE SYSTEM

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I Could Fill A Room With Empty Pockets

I'm a child of the 60's had my first guitar by 8. Spent the 80's playing in indie bands in Brisbane and Sydney Australia. An innovative and challenging time for Australian music, "It's coming of age". Time passes and the smoke haze and stale smell of beer has faded... I now work as a teacher in Thailand, still have my guitar, still love music. Peace & Love